Mommy's Birthday

Today would have been my mom's 57th birthday. It marks the 5th birthday she's not here to celebrate--which is hard to believe.

On her 52nd Birthday she had to work the night shift. We shared an apartment; so I decorated the place in yellow streams, a 'Happy Birthday' sign, and I made her a confetti cake. Since she would be getting in so late, I left a note asking her to wake me up when she got home.

I'll never forget how excited she was to have someone celebrate her. I saw her tear up a little, and I knew it made it her so happy that I tried to leave the streamers up for a long time after. But my mom was a big about decluttering, so she had me take them down after a week.

Looking back I'm glad I had grown to be a little less selfish at that point, enough to be able to celebrate the woman who gave me birth. I was only (newly) 21 and got caught up in my own world pretty often, but God gave me the inspiration to do something special that year.

A couple of weeks later, I went to Los Angeles for the first time. It was my Spring Break trip that I saved up for. My mom was so proud of me for traveling and seeing the world that she bragged about me to (what felt like) everyone she met. I was her daughter that traveled to visit friends, and I paid for the whole trip myself!

I brought her back a key chain and seashells. Both of which I now have in my possession. My mom was able to carry that key chain (a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star with 'Pat' on it) for a month. Then, at the end of April we had to say goodbye.

I think about that last month of her life often. I remember all of the kid feelings of being embarrassed by my parent, I remember all the times we giggled, the times we fought, and I remember, especially in that last month, how supportive she was of my decisions in life.

Now, 5 years later, I'm married, I'm moving to LA, I have seen so much more of the world than she ever dreamed of, and I am happy. I am really, really happy.

It hurts so much at times that she hasn't been here for any of that, but all of her support and encouragement is still with me today. I am very much the person and the dreamer that I am because... she told me I could be that person.

I often think on how losing my mom so young has shaped me as a person. I ask questions like 'would I still have met and married Jayson if it had not happened?'. But the key I need to remember is to not dwell on how her death has affected me, but how her life influenced mine.

So happy birthday, Mommy; and thank you. Not just for giving me life, but for shaping who I am in every sense.

-s

White Bean, Kale and Sausage Soup

So my latest blogosphere obsession has been Cupcakes and Cashmere! I already got a few recipe, clothing, and design ideas from Emily (the wonderful blogger)---not to mention the desire to return to NOLA after seeing her Mardi Gras pics!--- but when I saw this entry with this recipe linked to it, I knew we had to try it.

So last night, after a cloudy, chilly, event packed day (that started by thinking two men were breaking into my house...long story), I grabbed my ingredients and through this in the pan.
*I used turkey sausage, and want to try a spicy turkey sausage in it next time.

Rule #1 in cooking:
Always have something to read to help pass the time.
(Rule #2 is always have a chair or somewhere to sit in the kitchen to do said reading)



It immediately smells wonderful, and the kale soaks up all the broth to make it extra tasty and take away any bitterness.



Finished product!



We did decide that next time we think we will try to add 1 more can of beans, just to make it a bit more dense.

Warning if you try this recipe at home: the creator didn't give a lot of specific instructions; so please go into it willing to try different things, make stuff up as you go along, and be okay if it doesn't turn out perfect...though I'm pretty sure that's hard to do with this one.

-s

P.S. also want to add, this was such a simple and pretty quick recipe. a lot of times soup take a little more effort... not this one. so enjoy!

Homemade Granola

I hear homemade granola is the new fondue (spread it around).

Tonight, I made my first batch.

"Sarah, aren't you down and out with the Mono right now?" you ask. Why yes, yes I am; and I am stir crazy! Don't worry, I didn't cough on this batch once. 100% safe to eat, and extremely delicious.

I went off of the Barefoot Contessa recipe here on the Food Network page (thanks to Kate for suggesting it), but I changed several things. We aren't a coconut house; so that was out. I used dried cranberries instead of cherries, and I added 1/4 C of brown sugar to really set it off. (I also added a bit more honey just to make sure it was all coated really well).

When making any recipe online, many of you probably know you MUST check the comments other people post about their adventures in making it. If you didn't know that, let me go ahead and give you a run down of the important things I learned before I ever turned on my oven.

1. Set your over at 325 degrees F, instead of 350!
2. It should take you 25 minutes to bake this. For the first 20 minutes, DON'T have the fruit in with the granola! Add the fruit when you have 5 minutes left on the clock!
3. You can add or subtract whatever you want to this recipe, and it will still probably turn out delicious.

I made it, and I love it. I immediately put it on a little cup of ice cream that Jayson brought home from the place he volunteers.

Here are a couple of pictures:





So is there anything I would change? I think if I could go back I would have like some honey and cinnamon on the cranberries as well, but all in all this was perfection!

Enjoy!

-s

The Long Awaited (and long worded) Moving to LA Post!

Here is the news most everyone knows and the blog (that I’ve been promising for a long time) that goes along with it!

Jayson, Adler and I are moving to Los Angeles, California!

WHY?

I think i make a mistake every time moving to Los Angeles is mentioned.

When it comes to reasons, I always mention careers first. "Well Jayson and I have reached the ceiling, career-wise, here in Fort Worth..." I think I do this because it's practical. People love practical. When something big is happening they want you to explain it in a practical way because i think ingrained in everyone's head is "only practical plans are well thought out," but you know what i've discovered, going on an adventure is just as good of a reason and can be just as thought out.

So let's start it this way. Jayson and I are moving to Los Angeles because it's an adventure we've never been on.

Now, if you know me at all, you know I don't do anything without thinking it out fully (thinking about it constantly); and Jayson is definitely the same. So here I will tell you every reason we've thought over as to why we should move.... and WHY OH WHY Los Angeles!

Sarah’s reasons for wanting to move to LA:

I came to Fort Worth a little over 7 years ago, and I never expected to be here this long. Don’t get me wrong I love it here, and so many great memories and great friends have been made in this town. But…. I’m a big city girl. I know, it’s different, it’s not for everybody, but for me it’s exactly right.
Three years ago, I thought I was going to hurry and move myself to New York, but God had other plans for me. I met my husband, finished school, and enjoyed more time in this city. Now I am excited to try something new!
Some of you may know it’s been tough for me to find a career path I really enjoy here. After I graduated I applied to a lot of places. Nothing was here (in Fort Worth) for the music field, and I tried applying at local event planning businesses. No one was hiring. Plus, I was hesitant because I don’t want to work weddings (done that on the photography side of things) and I didn’t want to just plan business meetings at hotels. I couldn’t find anything in a field I loved; so I tried teaching…which wasn’t a good fit.
In LA, both of these areas (music and event planning) are more prominent. When we first decided to move I was so excited to finally pick up the music end of things. I asked around. I was all set to start at the bottom and work my way up; but when I prayed over it a lot, I realized the best plan for me is to pursue a career on the event planning side (if it ends up involving music, I won’t mind at all). I like a job that not only makes people happy, but allows me to see the beginning and end of a project. I don’t just want to do any event planning; my dream is to work with one company I believe in, and really build their brand and their company through events.
Other reasoning: a lot of our friends here are settling down and having families. That’s great! We love them, and we love it for them! But the more it happens, the more Jayson and I realize we have no ambition to do that right now. In fact, it gives us even more of an itch to go try something new and exciting! Live in a new place, make even more friends (we love making as many as possible)!
It’s great timing right now! We don’t have kids, our jobs are kind of encouraging us to go, and we are still plenty young!

Jayson’s reasons for wanting to move to LA (with Jayson as guest blogger):

I’d like to think that David Bowie might have written the song “Changes” for Sarah and me.

“I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time”

After much deliberation and prayer Sarah and I have decided to move to Los Angeles. Many other cities or options were discussed but Los Angeles is the place that seems to fit for our next step in life.

Fort Worth has always been the place I call home. I like it…I love it… but I want some more of… a new experience. Since I graduated college I’ve thought and in some cases even looked into moving. Nothing ever came from these notions. It never felt like the right time or something would come up keeping me here. Now things seem to have been drawing me to LA. I have a wonderful wife to share and help in this experience; we’ll have a strong foundation of friends (including my oldest friend), different job opportunities, a pretty stout music scene and a beach.

Along with a new adventure is the possibility of combining the two things that have been a major part of my professional life: music and psychology. Music therapy has been an idea I’ve been proverbially kicking around for awhile. California has more grad school programs and job opportunities in this area. I’m really looking forward to all the possibilities.

Fort Worth will always be a place I call home. My loving family and many friends live here so we will be back to visit as often as we can. Here is the part where our move helps you… you will now have a place to stay when you come to LA. That’s a bonus for you and us.

Needless to say, Sarah and I are very excited about all the upcoming changes. Just like you have given us love, care, support, laughs, encouragement, memories, phone calls, text messages, e-mails facebook updates, tweets and myspace wall post before we will need just as much if not more as we start this part of our life. After all life is for living and we’re living it up. Thanks for being an important part of our life. Life is so rad!

WHY LA? (back to Sarah as blogger)

When looking for a new city to move, we looked at several (I’ve always been partial to New York, and Jayson to Seattle). Something kept drawing us back to LA. As a couple we have been there 4 times already (and a 5th coming up at the end of the month). We continue getting drawn back.
If you are someone that brings up traffic: yes there is bad traffic there, but have you ever driven in Dallas… or even North Richland Hills? We already know about traffic, and we’ll just have to learn a little more patience to deal with LA’s version of it.


But on to the positives:
We have great pockets of friends all over the city, and even more people we would love to get to know better. Yes, we even have a lot of Christian friends there; and already have the beginnings of a list of churches we want to check out!
There’s a large music scene for us to not only enjoy, but also, for Jayson to start playing again. He is a fantastic guitarist, and played in The Cut Off in Fort Worth for years (www.thecutoff.com).
There’s great weather (BIG draw… don’t know if I could handle another Texas Summer), and because of that it’s a great town for dogs!
We love the laid back feel of the town, and that there’s always something to do or not do (beach, anyone?). We love the restaurants! We love that there is both AL and NL Baseball; so we can see both the Rangers and the Cardinals! I love that we get to support the Dodgers ☺
It’s actually cheaper to fly home from LA than a lot of the other towns we looked at, too!
There’s more reasons we could list now, and even more that we’ll come up with when we’re there!

WRAP IT UP:

Let me just say, we’re excited! We want you to be excited too! We have had a lot of naysayers over the past couple of months, and it has actually hurt us a whole lot. Hurt us to have people not trust our decision, our preparation, and not trusting that we are approaching this as adults who have thought out many different angles of this move.
Know that: we have spent time in prayer over this, that we have read lots of books, we are taking a trip to LA at the end of this month for a scouting trip, we are waiting until we have proper jobs to move, and we are so very pumped, excited, thrilled, and on the edge of our seats in anticipation for this move!
Thank you to everyone who supports us! We know that although it will be exciting when we move to LA, it will also be a little sad because we are leaving Fort Worth; but there is beauty in the times that we live. There’s Skype, telephones, email, Facebook, Twitter! We won’t be out of touch! Oh, and of course, we’ll be back for visits. Plus, we’ll always have a place for you to stay in Los Angeles!

Thanks a gazillion
Sarah & Jayson

This Christmas: Draw a Name, Gain a Friendship

I love people. I love spending time with people, and I love getting to know people. Sure, sometimes when it's too crowded or too loud (mainly a lot of girl squealing) I get overwhelmed; but at the core of it, I would rather spend time with people than spend time with just myself.

So how does that figure in to Christmas?

Because to me Christmas is so much more than just getting a lot of presents we want (i think of it as a time to celebrate Christ and the friends and family He has blessed me with), when i do get someone a gift, i try to spend extra time looking for a present that reminds me of the gift-receiver. This isn't because I like to prove what a great gift-giver I am; it's because it forces me to put my love and friendship with that person to the forefront of my thoughts.

When someone receives a gift, they don't (i hope) judge it by how much money you spent, or how big it is; they are happier when they can tell you really thought of them and know them. Your attention to that person is often reflected in the gift you get them (which is probably why fruitcake, fruit baskets, and ties don't go over as well as we plan).

This Christmas I have come up with a plan to take the idea, of focusing on your friendship/relationship instead of the gift itself, to a new level.

I have never really liked white elephant gifts, and the whole drawing someone's name and focusing on gifts for them is a neat idea; but what if we were to use the drawing to build community?

This year i propose that everyone gather a group of friends (think a larger group or a home church... or a small church) and have a name drawing.

Everyone draws one name.

Yes, at the end of it you will get that person a small present that reminds you of them, BUT you must get to know the person whose name you have drawn better before you buy them a gift.

When you draw you must decide if you know that person really well already (and want to draw for someone else) because the main idea is to get to know someone better that you only kind of knew before. You can either hang out one on one (like over coffee), or you can hang out in a group and just focus on getting to know that person more (this is in case you feel awkward meeting up with the opposite sex in the one-on-one manner).

Remember, you don't have to make it a very big gift (in fact small gifts might be even more fun of a challenge). The hope is that, since everyone will be drawing one name, you will step into the new year with 2 more friends and an even stronger community.

Let me know what you think, if you'd like to take part, and if you do try this, how it turned out.

happy loving-on-one-another season!
s